Place Period Research Articles

Publishing Embargoes and Versions of Preprints: Impact on the Dissemination of Information

Abstract This commentary abridges three closely related aspects of scholarly publishing, copyright transfer to publishers in the subscription-based model, posting of author-accepted versions to preprint servers, and publishing embargoes, to appreciate how each might impact the dissemination of information. We found no direct evidence showing that either copyright transfer or the posting of early (i.e., author-submitted or journal-accepted) versions of works to preprint servers stifle academics’ ability to share their papers openly. However, some key structural issues and incompatibilities in policies may dampen the wider adoption of preprints despite their widely promoted advantages for scientists. We found a 6- to 36-month embargo period in place by 10 of the world’s top largest publishers, depending on the version of the record. These embargoes may constrain the dissemination of knowledge.

Global tracking stabilisation via sampled-data output feedback for nonlinear systems with unknown measurement sensitivity

In engineering practice, sensors commonly have limited sensitivity errors, which are allowed in the design process. This paper uses a sampled-data output feedback control method so that the problem of global tracking stabilisation of a class of nonlinear systems with unknown measurement sensitivity can be solved. A sampled-data output feedback control law and a sampled-data observer are constructed with the help of output feedback domination method. By choosing the domination gain and sampling period in place, the resultant control law can globally stabilise the system even under the influence of unknown measurement sensitivity.

After EU Membership – The United Kingdom in Transition

The United Kingdom was due to leave the European Union on 29 March 2019 and to enter a period of ‘transition’ pending the entry into force of an agreement establishing the future relationship between the EU and the UK. This transition or implementation period was intended to offer continuity and cer-tainty to states, businesses and citizens; a safety net against a cliff-edge disorderly departure and a po-tential bridge to a future relationship. However, as a consequence of the failure to gain domestic par-liamentary approval for the text of the Withdrawal Agreement, things have not gone to plan. Instead of entering a period of transition, the UK remains a Member State of the EU until 31 October 2019. With a new Prime Minister in the UK talking up his willingness to take the UK out of the EU without a deal and without a transition period in place, this article reflects on what the negotiators sought to achieve in agreeing a transition period in the first place and why the politics of Brexit has undermined the purposes of transition.

A new Subcutaneously Anchored Device for Securing External Cerebrospinal Fluid Catheters: our Preliminary Experience

Accidental dislocation or removal is a well-known complication of external cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage in daily clinical practice. At present, no data about the incidence of such complications are available in the scientific literature. SecurAcath (Interrad Medical, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA) is a subcutaneously anchored device recently adopted for securement of central venous catheters, known to be highly effective (and cost-effective) in reducing the risk of catheter dislodgement and/or accidental removal. We report our preliminary experience with the use of SecurAcath to secure CSF drainage, either ventricular or spinal, to the skin. SecurAcath was used in 29 consecutive patients (age range: 3 weeks-16 years, median age 6.3 years). In particular, the device was used for 25 ventricular catheters (a patient received 2 catheters in the same procedure for bilateral brain abscess) and 5 spinal drainages. Period in place ranged from 1-4 weeks (median 22 days). No complication related to the use of the device was observed, in particular there was no case of dislocation oraccidental removal of the catheter. The removal procedure was extremely easy. The device has proven its utility also in 3 cases requiring an adjustment of the length of the catheter. In our experience, SecurAcath is a safe and effective device to secure CSF external catheters to the skin, with several relevant advantages: its placement and maintenance are easy; it may stay in place for the entire duration of the catheter; it allows a more complete antisepsis of the exit site, thus reducing local skin complications; it eliminates the risk of suture-related needlestick injuries.

A Critical Analysis of Namibia’s Public Procurement Supplier Remedies Regulatory Framework: Introducing the Standstill Period

In public procurement, review bodies have generally been prohibited from interfering with concluded contracts. This is particularly so as time is of the essence in the procurement process and any disruptions delay the implementation of government contracts. Delays are undesirable as they lead to the inflation of costs, which at the end of the day government has to incur. The procuring process involves the high expenditure of public funds and requires it to be used in a manner that ensures that public money is not wasted. The disruption that comes with supplier remedies therefore has to be regulated to ensure it remains minimal while affording suppliers with the right to justice. It is for this reason that the standstill period was created in the European Union (EU) to set a time limit within which unsuccessful suppliers who feel that the correct procedures were not followed can lodge their complaints before the contract is concluded. Once the time period has lapsed, contracts awarded can then be concluded between the government and the successful supplier. Challenges to the concluded contract are prohibited after this. The implementation of the contract awarded is, in other words, allowed to run smoothly with no interruptions. At present, Namibia has no standstill period in place. Section 16 (2) of the Tender Board of Namibia Act 16 of 1996, allows for the contract awarded to be concluded immediately after notification to the successful supplier. This concluded contract can thus be challenged by unsuccessful suppliers who feel aggrieved and as a result disrupt the implementation of contracts awarded. Furthermore, Namibia has no administrative supplier remedies in place and judicial review, which involves court interference, is the only supplier remedies available to suppliers. Judicial review is however not suitable as it leads to high legal fees and delays which have a negative impact on the procurement process as a whole. Following the introduction of the standstill period in the EU, it has been adopted by some African countries. This paper looks at whether the standstill period should be introduced in Namibia, together with a specific procurement review structure as can be found in the procurement systems of other jurisdictions. Furthermore, the paper will look at how such a standstill period will work, should it be introduced, in order to reduce procurement court cases as they are clearly not ideal.

Femoral Tunneled Central Venous Catheters for Terminally Ill Patients with Cancer

Oral administration of medication is often difficult in terminally ill patients with cancer. These patients require intravenous routes for high-dose opioid administration and/or parenteral nutrition. When the superior vena cava (SVC) is unsuitable for central vein catheter insertion (i.e., in patients with mediastinal masses involving the SVC), alternative access routes are needed. Of these, the femoral vein is most utilized. In our experience, the femoral tunneled catheter (FTC) is easy and safe to use. We retrospectively studied FTC outcomes in terminally ill patients with cancer. Charts of consecutive patients admitted to the palliative care unit between April 2008 and December 2011 were reviewed. FTC is inserted into the vein by the single-puncture method using a 16-gauge catheter with a 14-gauge peel-away introducer. Eleven patients underwent FTC insertion. In total, there were 207 days of FTC placement; the mean period in place was 19±15 days. Eight patients received parenteral opioid therapy, high doses in four cases, via FTCs. Complications were incidental arterial puncture and poor infusion rate due to hip joint bending in one case each. Neither catheter-related infection nor clinical venous thrombosis occurred. FTCs were successfully inserted, with a low complication rate. FTC, a simple technique, might be an acceptable alternative in selected terminally ill patients with cancer, when SVC insertion is difficult or contraindicated.

Discrete Stock Adjustment: The Case of Demand for Automobiles

DURING THE LAST DECADE or so, many models of demand for durable goods have been suggested, but few have received wider acceptance and application than has the stock adjustment model of the StoneRowe variety.2 Certainly the simplicity and intuitive appeal of this model make it attractive. This model in its general framework makes two rather fundamental assumptions about consumer behavior, namely, that adjustment toward a desired level of stock takes place period after period and that rigidities due to habit, financial circumstances, etc. make for less than a full adjustment. The exhaustive study by Nerlove [5] indicates that there can be little reason for arguing against the second assumption, However, the first assumption is justified only if the durable goods under study are in some sense divisible or if only market variables are being treated. If one is dealing with the demand for major durables by consumer units and the durables are indivisible, the assumption of continuous adjustment toward the desired level of stock becomes unrealistic. It is largely in this last context that we wish to discuss a microanalytic variant of the stock adjustment model. The discrete nature of stock adjustment for some commodities has been pointed out by Wu [l0]. While he applied the stock adjustment concept to explain the durable goods expenditures of purchasers, the lack of data concerning initial stock led him to employ demand functions containing primarily lagged demographic variables. In this paper, we propose a discrete stock adjustment model which incorporates fairly detailed information on initial stock. We investigate the case of the demand for automobiles by using the 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960,